Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. It seems that I have been reading a lot of books about missing children etc lately, I enjoyed this but was the same really as all the others.

I loved this author's previous book but I couldn't seem to enjoy this one.

The story is told from Kelly's point of view and switches between her childhood and the present day.

Although I felt sorry for how Kelly was treated as a child I just wanted the book to finish. There were no dramatic twists and I was quite disappointed.

Others seem to have enjoyed it so obviously it's just not for me.

We Were Sisters has elements of a psychological thriller and will keep you on your toes, but at its core it is a book about family, love (or lack there of) and how our experiences as children make us into the people we are today.

The book is told from Kelly's perspective, alternating between her past as a young girl whose parents regularly fostered children, while ignoring her, and the present where she is a stressed mom of three with a husband with secrets of his own. I was particularly drawn to the present time, as we learn with Kelly about secrets her family kept buried and how her understanding of her own past may not be true.

I would have liked to learn more about Freya's past (another book perhaps!?) and what made her into the child and woman she turned out to be.

Thank you to @Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

We Were Sisters is a gripping, psychological thriller which follows the story of Kelly, a mum of three who grew up with parents who fostered other children. In particular there was an incident with one of these foster children, Freya, that Kelly has never gotten over, and now it looks like Kelly's past is coming back to haunt her...

The story is told from Kelly's perspective and switches between her past as a child, and the present. Some of the chapters from Kelly's younger years are a bit difficult to read at times as she didn't have the best childhood, and you can't help feeling sorry for her. As an adult it's interesting to see how her past has influenced the way she is with her children, and in particular the way she treats her twin girls.

I don't want to give away any of the story, but I think it builds up well. I found myself racing through to find out what happens, and just when I thought I'd figured it out another twist came along! However, for me I was a little disappointed with the actual ending. There was a lot of build up to quite a dramatic showdown, but then I just felt the end was a bit anticlimatic.

Overall another good read by Wendy Clarke, with some great atmospheric writing. I feel she really captures the world around her characters.

Thankyou to netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review

A casual read that didn’t really cause any emotion either way if I am
honest
Kelly is desperate for a Sister and all her dreams come true when her parents foster Freya, will they become close Sisters and best friends?
Freya comes with a troubled past and it seems a troubled present/future too awaits her!!
Tragedy strikes and Kelly and Freya are separated and never see each other again...
And now present day we find Kelly struggling with 3 infants and a past she wants to forget.....of course though that past is intent on re-appearing and will the truth of the ‘Sisters’ be known, once and for all?
Some very good descriptive writing of the Mum and how she treats her daughter in comparison to her foster daughter and the reasoning behind this
The OCD that Kelly suffers with is described well and you can feel the frustration this is causing her
The characters were in the main unlikeable though and the ending was lacklustre and kinda ‘oh’ instead of ‘OHHHHHH’
Not a bad read just an average one

5.5/10 3 ( just ) Stars

A great psychological thriller, with lots of unexpected twists and turns. Can’t really go into detail about the story as it would spoil it for others but I throughly recommend it

A great psychological thriller from Wendy Clarke.
The story is told from Kelly’s perspective, in the present and in the past.
We learn that she once had a sister who was a foster child, and who also liked to manipulate others.
Freya was a troubled child and her time with Kelly and her family definitely had its ups and downs.
Kelly never felt close to her mum and dad so left home at the earliest opportunity.
She’s now got a family of her own and whilst she loves them dearly, she’s struggling to cope with the sleepless nights.
Things start to happen around Kelly and she’s desperately worried for her family.
This one made my heart race towards the end and had me on the edge of my seat.
This is a really good psychological thriller and I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Often things ocurring in the present are born out of events happening in the past. That one of the points of view an author can use as a skeleton for a story and one I really enjoy. This book is built up around this structure.

We follow Kelly's life as a young girl and as a grown up woman with her own family.

Sometimes someone can hurt you so deeply that taking revenge is what you feel you need to do. And is there a better way than to spread a lie? But revenge and lies can drive people to desperate actions ... and that's when the guilt kicks in ...

And now suddenly the shoe seems to be on the other foot!

Maybe the book is not really a thriller but it certainly messes with people's heads and it kept me entertained from the first letter until the last full stop. It's a story with a lot of sadness, pain and secrets, but it also has a kind of creepiness. You think you know which direction the book is going to take. Well, guess again. :) A nice few twists that I did not see coming are always a bonus of course. :) 4 stars.

Thank you, Wendy Clarke and Bookouture (via Netgalley).

This was the first book that I have read by Wendy Clarke and its safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. A fabulous and addictive plot which kept me up reading until after 1am and with an 8 month old baby that's probably the highest praise I can give! I wont get into the plot but suffice it to say if your a fan of thrillers and in particular the recent spate of popular thrillers (think Gone Girl etc) you will LOVE this book. Thanks fo NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

The plot of this book is interesting. But it somehow fell flat and did not manage to be a great thriller for me.
The main characters were a bit lacklustre and this chipped away at the story.
The book does wonderfully delve into the life of foster parents and children. The adjustments and the coping, but it also shows a darker side of the whole thing.
For me, this book could have been a great read, but it was average and did not make for a page-turning thriller.

A really gripping novel again by Wendy Clarke A real page turner with lots of twists along the way A couple who had been very damaged in their childhoods and had a real struggle to open up to each other and as a result after having their own family they were nearly torn apart and had to go back and find answers about the past before they could have a happy future together a great read

Wendy Clarke gives us a great psychological thriller in We Were Sisters. The story line is easy to follow even though it is told in Kelly's perspective and switches from the present to the past. I loved how we got to know Kelly's history as well as what is going on with her in modern day to see where things are going. There are chapters that will have you really thinking about what is going on in the book. I thought I knew what was going to happen and then we would get another twist that threw my whole theory out the window.

Kelly is a young woman that has a family of her own now. She has moved to the county over from where she grew up because she was determined to get away from her parents as soon as she was able to. Kelly is married to Mitch and they have twin girls as well as a young baby boy. The girls have just started school for the year and Kelly is trying really hard to get a routine down with them but baby Noah has had her up all hours of the night with his feedings, so when Kelly starts to see little things from her past she is not sure if she is just really tired and imagining them or if they are really happening to her.

We learn that Kelly grew up in a house with her mom and dad, but they were always getting in foster children that didn't stay very long. Kelly had always longed for a sister that she could be close to. When Freya comes to live with them, Kelly thinks that this is finally the one! Freya and Kelly are going to be sisters! Freya is very reserved and closed off though and she and Kelly have to get used to each other. Freya has her past that Kelly can't really get her to open up about, but she and Kelly end up getting along pretty well. One day, Freya is up and gone and Kelly is never given an explanation as to why she had to leave.

Freya ends up coming back and loving with Kelly and her parents eventually and Kelly is not sure how she feels about some things that are going on. Kelly has always wanted a relationship with her dad, but turns out he seems to connect with Freya more than Kelly. There are things that Freya and Kelly have as their little things they do or know but no one else does. Freya is getting older as well as Kelly and they tend to try some things and all the sudden Freya is once again take from their home with no explanation and Kelly things she knows what happened.

I don't want to give away any more of this suspenseful read. You will be turning the pages as fast as you can in this one. I couldn't put it down once I started and really enjoyed it. Wendy Clarke has done a fine job with this one!

All opinions are my own and voluntary. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book!

Thank you @netgalley #netgalley & @WendyClarke #WendyClarke for this @ARC of #WeWereSisters

I enjoyed reading this twister of a story of fostering a child and the difficult situations that could result; however, the story started off really slow and and flopped around some making it difficult for me to keep interest, but personally, that’s just me and how my mind works. Lol

Ultimately, this book has potential and is a good read & I would recommend it to others.

To be far this book didn’t grip my attention. There was too much flipping of Kelly’s story today and years ago. None of the characters grabbed me.
The book was an easy read but the ending didn’t have any pow!
The dynamics between Kelly and her foster sister were interesting and I feel the author could have developed that a little more. Probably more 3.5 stars .
Thank you to Wendy Clarke, Bookouture and Netgalley for an advanced copy.

We Were Sisters by Wendy Clarke is about a girl named Kelly. On her 8th birthday, she wishes for a sister...her wish is granted when her foster sister, Freya, arrives. Freya is a few years older than Kelly, but Kelly soon realizes Freya may not be the sister she was hoping for. Freya has some deep mental issues, and a secret past Kelly knows nothing about. Freya is soon sent from the foster home, and away from Kelly, only to return years later in a much worse state. When Kelly witnesses something traumatic, she can’t wait for the day to escape her ‘home’

Fast forward to Kelly as an adult, married, twin daughters and a newborn son. On the twins first day of school, her son’s pram is gone. She finds it a few doors down and unharmed, but she is shaken to find something in it she knows was Freya’s. Strange things start happening, and everything always points back to her foster sister. Kelly struggles with OCD, anxiety, no sleep due to taking care of her new baby. When Kelly tries to talk to her husband, Mitch, he doesn’t take her seriously and thinks everything going on is in her head. When Kelly finds out Mitch is hiding some secrets of his own, including one which involves Kelly’s estranged mother, Kelly begins to believe she imagining things. As things start to become dangerous, she is forced to face her past and all her secrets in order to save her own family.

I enjoyed this book, the theme and plot were really interesting, but the flow fell flat. Many parts were dragged out and predictable, nothing really shocking occurred as I was expecting. I would recommend this book for a quick read, as long as you know going in what you see is what you get.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Wendy Clarke and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We Were Sisters, Wendy Clarke's newest release, is a twisty endeavor. Stay-at-home mom of 5 year old twin daughters and an infant son, Kelly is trying to just navigate her sleep-deprived life. Told in both the present (now) and past (before) we see that Kelly grew up in a home with a cold mother and detached father. Her mother's spark only came alive when they were fostering children. Kelly grew close to one troubled girl, Freya, and blames herself for her death. Flash-forward to the present and Kelly is receiving sinister signs that someone is watching her and her family-and knows about the past. As Kelly's marriage is strained due to secrets she and her husband Mitch are keeping the tension increases as does the danger. Shocking twists will keep readers engaged!

# We Were Sisters #Netgally
A insisting and gripping book, with spins and twists throughout the book. Fostering a child is a extremely difficult but important thing for the children in care. Although some children are damaged and need a living stable home. This is a good storyline one where there only one child who is desperate for a sister. However the come and much to Kelly's sadness. Then one day Kelly thinks this new girl Freya will always be her sister she begs her mum before fryer arrived to keep this girl. The image Kelly has built of her sister is nothing like she imagined at all. She think with white blond hair who doesn't speak. Kelly's parents in Kelly's eyes think the foster children get more love and attention than she does. Now Kelly is a women with her own 3 children she starts getting feelings as if she being followed supposedly by a deceased duster. It's definitely well written and a decent read

I hate being negative about someone else’s work as I know what it’s like to put your heart into it, edit and re-edit for months only to have it criticised – so instead I’ll blame the publisher for describing this book as: ‘heart-pounding suspense thriller that will grip you until the very last page.’ It most definitely did not live up to that description.

As a child, Kelly always wanted a sister, but what she got was Freya, a pale waif with a dark secret no one must talk about, dooming Kelly’s chances of obtaining her wish from the beginning. Kelly is now grown and she and husband Mitch have twin daughters and a new born son. From the outset it was clear Kelly was suffering post-natal depression exacerbated by an unconventional, passive/neglectful upbringing and someone from her past playing mind games with her.

I’m afraid I didn’t engage with the disturbed Kelly, and became increasingly frustrated that she refused to explain her upbringing or her deep-seated fears to Mitch yet still expected him to make allowances and understand no matter how bizarre her behaviour. Distant and self-absorbed, she thought no one else was worth bothering with – even Mitch, and she liked it that way. Mitch did his best to understand his wife – well, sort of – but he makes mistakes of his own, especially when he says sulkily, ‘You weren’t like this with the twins’ yet he makes no attempt to get Kelly the help she so obviously needs. That it’s ‘Just you.’

One of her twins developed into a manipulative madame with a cruel streak and the other a timid wallflower bullied by her meaner sister. Kelly identified and abhorred their characters but remained an uninvolved observer.

The major issue between Kelly and her mother, Karen, was never referred to or resolved. I was still looking for ‘the twists’ but the story just fizzled out.

Not only was this a twisty thriller but I found it full of emotions. The author really has a gift for making the words on a page come to life with such FEELING.
This is a story with so many twists and lots of heart.
Thank you #Netgalley, the author and the publisher for my free copy in exchange for my honest review.

I give this book a 3.5.

Kelly is married with twin girls and a 3-month-old boy. She shows signs of having OCD -- counting routines that determine whether things are going to go well or not, very strict routines, etc. -- along with postpartum depression. Suddenly, things are happening that can't be explained -- the baby stroller is moved, the family dog isn't where he's supposed to be, etc. -- and Kelly's husband thinks she's just losing her mind from lack of sleep. Kelly thinks she's being stalked by her estranged mother.

From alternating chapter flashback, we know Kelly grew up with a mother obsessed with finding the perfect child -- through foster care -- while neglecting Kelly, and a father who couldn't have cared less about her. When she's 8, though, she gets a new foster sister named Freya, and her parents seem to find the daughter they always wanted. Unfortunately, something happens, and Freya disappears from their home until six years later, she returns, only to kill herself after Kelly tells a lie about something.

This book was a fun, quick, suspenseful read. The build up to the conclusion was the best part. Without giving anything away, the conclusion was a let down. It wasn't a bad ending, but nothing really happened and no one really learned anything too important.

And, furthermore, as a side note, Kelly's husband, Mitch, was pretty unlikeable the whole book, and she really should have kicked him to the curb a long time ago. It's always frustrating when the main character's spouse is such a jerk all the time and she just takes it and loves him so much that it doesn't matter how bad he treats her.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my review.